Eagles Beat #1 Johnson County at DMACC Tournament

Boone, IA- Kirkwood traveled to Boone this past weekend to compete in the DMACC Volleyball Tournament. The Eagles had a tough challenge on the weekend having #8 Heartland, #1 Johnson County, and Moraine Valley on the schedule. The team truly showed grit, going 3-0 at the tournament, handing #1 Johnson County their first loss on the season. 

The Eagles started on Friday, taking on #8 Heartland in a 2 p.m. match. The first set was highly contested with the Eagles pulling away at the end, taking it 25-21. Kirkwood didn't look back after that, taking the next two by scores of 25-13 and 25-12. Alyssa Tegeler delivered a season-high 6 aces in the three-set match, while Grace Embretson paced the Eagles with 17 assists. Emma Meester led the way offensively, notching 9 kills on 17 attempts, hitting .353. 

Kirkwood was back in action early the next morning against undefeated #1 Johnson County. The Eagles rose to the challenge after dropping the first set 25-20, by winning the next three with scores of 29-27, 25-21, and 26-24. Emma Meester was once again a bright spot on the offensive side of the ball, hitting .500 with 14 kills on 26 total attempts. Alyssa Tegeler also put pressure on behind the service line again, adding 5 aces to make her total 11 so far on the weekend. Lily VanSeveren continued her amazing freshman campaign with 14 digs and 3 service aces.

The Eagles didn't have time to rest as their match against Moraine Valley was right after. As they had all weekend, the outside duo of Lexi Hearn and Emma Cross came through, tallying 10 and 16 kills, respectively. The offensive effort was very well-balanced thanks to 20 assists by Grace Embretson and 23 by Sydney Matthias. 

Up next for the Eagles is NIACC on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.